Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world.
So that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Remember some things. You know, Psalm 103 verse 1, a psalm of David, some believe that Daniel actually wrote this psalm.
Some believe Ezra actually wrote this psalm. There are even some that believe Zerubbabel actually wrote this psalm. Truth be known, we're not exactly sure, but we do know it was at a time of captivity. I want you to notice this. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me.
Bless his holy name. And of course, I believe at least the major portion of this psalm was written by David, but there's different excerpts that they believe were from other authors. But may I say this, it doesn't matter necessarily to me who's writing this. I know the Lord gave it. It's through inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.
And if there's one thing I need to learn to do with my life, and that's to bless the Lord. Hello? You and I, constantly in our life, we keep asking God to bless us. What about us blessing the Lord? Notice this, and all that is within me, bless his holy name, bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not.
All his benefits.
Now I gotta be honest with you, it's just too many to remember. There's just too many to remember, but you and I ought to be working hard to make sure that within our ability. That we don't forget what God is doing and has done for us. And the roots of this, Brother John, I appreciate him helping me. Many of you have smartphones.
How many of you have the technology on your phone where it'll throw a picture at you? and it'll share a memory. And it'll recommend some memories for you to click on. And sometimes it agitates me because there's just some things I don't want to remember. Every once in a while stuff will come up and in recent days these pictures have come up and and I just kind of kept track of some of them and it's my personal life.
I know you don't really care about that, but I just want to use it as kind of an illustration. This is this is Hudson. And this came up like, don't forget this memory. And when I saw him, I was like, I just don't remember that. It's like I just almost can't remember.
Him looking like that.
Now, there's videos, we could spend all day me showing videos of him. And I watch videos. I was like, it's just my memory, it's just been so busy. I literally came here. He was just a baby when I came here, started trying to pastor this church, and just been so busy from the start that, man, you turn around twice.
Look at this next picture, and I thought this was good. This is Daniel. Go ahead to the next one, John. You think was he alone on this? Nope, that was both of them.
Does that embarrass you at all, guys? Where's there? Daniel's over there. Does that embarrass you at all? I hope it doesn't.
I really do hope it doesn't. I didn't mean to embarrass you. Yes, I did. I actually did to embarrass you. And go ahead and go to the next one if you don't mind.
There's Hudson. You see, the point of this message today is really not to preach the word of God. It's to embarrass my boys. And I just give me a little, okay. I want to go look at this next one, if you would.
And this is my mom. when she was dying with cancer. Never very far away was her Bible. And, um Some days you don't want that coming up on your phone. Yeah.
Here's a memory. Yeah. But may I say something you don't want to forget these things. I don't know any of you that have lost your moms and dads, and if any of you it's been years. There comes a point in time you almost forget their face a little bit.
You just forget the in the intricacies of their face. Thank God we have technology now that means we can pull up stuff. And go ahead to this next one. John, I am. As the boys got older, This proves that they can get along just at least for a minute and Go ahead to that next one.
That was when Caden was born and This um I had to take this one by myself. Julie couldn't. We had to whisk him to intensive care. Obviously, you know, the moment he was born.
So I was there in the I guess, is it the NICU or the PICU? I think it's the NICU where he was at first. And I was there on my own. Julie just had him. And I wanted to take a picture.
So that we could see his body. without the scars of surgery.
So I uncovered him and I knew what was coming the next day. Go ahead to the next picture, John, if you would. And there I was in the NICU, and Julie obviously was in her room. Up on another floor and They had to give him three days before his first open heart surgery, and so Um Why don't you go ahead to that next one, John, if you would. This was the night before his first open heart surgery and Uh and um They let mom hold them a minute.
You can see the tears we already had. of knowing what was going to get ready to take place.
So we both got some pictures and I'll tell you why we didn't know if we'd see them again. We didn't know They gave us a 50-50 chance he'd make it through this first surgery. We didn't know if maybe this is our last picture with them alive. We just weren't sure. And um There's my dad.
I wanted to change the mood a little bit. It was a little heavy and so. Obviously, after that picture, the next morning was the 13-hour surgery. I couldn't show you the pictures when we first came in. I wouldn't have done that to you, but.
This looks bad, but it wasn't anything like when we first went in and Now you say, well, you're just going through. No, no, no, literally, every one of these. at a day came up, share this memory. Share this memory. And Go ahead to the next one if you would.
There we are as he made it through and And sometimes you forget how young your boys were, and man, they had three, four months of mom and dad being at the hospital, our two boys, and go ahead to the next one if you would. I just wanted to prove there that Hudson and Caden can get along. That's the last. known picture of them getting along, but I wanted to show that. Go ahead to the next one, if you would.
That's a sick little guy right there. That's when you're like, well, we don't know if he's going to make it through this or not. After A second open heart surgery and a third and all this, but go ahead to the next one if you would. He made it. And here we are at Father's Day.
And this Memory came up last year for Father's Day in a sense. And uh I had to embarrass him a little bit too. Go ahead, the next one, John, if you would. And there's the two loves of my life. And I miss her.
Go ahead to the next one, John, if you would. Here's Caden. After four open heart surgeries and doing well and Uh as our boys.
Some years back. God just walks you through trial after trial. This came up the other day and boy I missed my mentor. And for those of you that are new, I just want you to know. This church is here.
Because of how God used this man. And this is Joe Myers, our pastor of Merit Issus.
Now went home to be with the Lord, but This is me and Brother Joe, and I wouldn't have a job here. He hired me as the youth pastor years ago, and I couldn't tell you the countless things I've learned. from him And that came up the other day and boy, I sure did. Miss 'em. When did you go to the next one, John, if you would?
There's Miss Dorcas, and she was. I usually could always get Miss Dorcas laughing about something. And um I was thinking the other day how much I meet Ms. Preacher, Ms. Dorcas, this memory came up and.
I just um I'm so thankful that she took me in as a son. Go ahead, that next one. There's dad. That memory came up, I think about a day before he passed away. And um You see, what's my point?
That's all the pictures. I don't mean to walk you through my personal life there. But my point is this there There are some great memories and there's some Not so great memories. But it's our job to make sure we don't forget them. You see, I see surgeries, but I'm reminded that God sure gave grace, and God got this young man through surgery.
I'm reminded, you know what, I don't want to forget. what my dad did for me all those years. How he loved me, how he took care of me. I don't want to forget that my mom, every morning before the sun came up, prayed for me faithfully. Every day of my life.
I don't want to forget the blessings God's given, the trials He's taken us through, the people that He's brought into our life. I don't want to forget. What my kids looked like when they were young. I don't want to forget those nights that me and you're just tired, and you got to bathe all the kids, and you got to do this, and you get so, but on the other end of it, you look back, and those are precious memories. And there's some young couples here this morning.
I want you to understand. One day you're going to have those pictures of what you're going through now. You're going to look back and you're going to think, man, where did time go? Enjoy it now. Don't get so burned up with Stress and anxiety, and overwhelming that you don't realize how good God's been in the middle of this.
I believe David here says. Bless the Lord, O my soul, forget not all. His benefits. I wanted to give you just a few today. He kind of divides this chapter up in two ways.
First, He says, bless the Lord. And then he talks about the Lord. And then later on at the end, he introduces the next part of this psalm and says, as for man.
So first he talks about God, then he talks about us. Notice As he talks about bless the Lord, why? Notice number one: because he forgives. Look at verse 3: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities. May I say he starts with this?
Because if we're not forgiven, we got nowhere to go from here anyway. Yeah, right. Am I right, church? If there is no forgiveness, we got no hope anyway. If there is no forgiveness, what does it matter if he can provide and he loves us and he has mercy and he has grace?
If he doesn't forgive us, there's no hope anyway. I love this passage, how it describes the forgiveness of God. Notice this: He says, He forgiveth all thine enigmas. Notice first is all. Listen, when you got saved and you Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ if you have this morning.
When he forgave your sin, he didn't forgive part of it. He didn't forgive a large fraction of it. He didn't forgive everything, but he forgave all. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. I want to remind you today, don't forget that God forgave all your sin.
Notice secondly The little phrase in verse 9, not always, look at verse 9, he will not always chide.
Now listen, we're his children, and as his children, God proves that we're His children because He disciplines us. But I don't know about you. I couldn't take it if he kept disciplining me every time I deserved it. But he says this: not only does he forgive all your iniquities, he doesn't always chide. He knows how much we can take.
Notice number three: there's this, not forever. Look at verse 3. Neither will he keep his anger forever. Not forever. Listen, God does get mad at sin.
God hates sin. But may I say something, isn't it nice to know that there's nothing I'm ever going to do that he's going to get so mad that he's going to stay angry at me for an eternity? I've been forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. May I say this? Look at this little phrase, according to, look at verse 10.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Aren't you glad you don't get what you deserve? Don't you get tired of people saying, Well, I tell you what, I don't ever get what I deserve. You ought to be thankful for that.
Well, God's not fair. You ought to be thankful for that, that God's not fair. If God was fair, we'd be in hell right now. God is just. Bible doesn't say God is fair, and you better be thankful he's not fair.
Because if he was a fair God, then we would have no choice but to go to hell because of our sin. But we have been justified because He's a just God, because we were justified through the blood of Jesus Christ, and He honored the blood sacrifice that was made for us. Can I give you the best one, I think? about forgiveness in this chapter. Verse 12, he hath removed.
Look at this verse. As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed. our transgressions from us. You're like, well, preacher, how far is the east from the west? We can't measure it.
Now we know how far it is from the east side of North Carolina to the west side. We know how far it is from the east side of America to the west side. May I say something? The actual direction east and the direction west, there are chasms of space that we can't even measure. It is unmeasurable.
It is beyond limitation. In other words, this, when God forgives our sin, he removes it, that it will never, ever come back again. But your wife will bring it up. Your husband will allude to it occasionally. And the Lord knows we know our children do.
Whew. You don't have your seatbelt on, Dad? Shut up. You're not supposed to say that, but I do in my car. It's my car, I can say what I want.
When you're 51, you can do whatever you want. Remember that?
Okay. I don't know about you. I'm so glad he removed. My sin. It would be too much for me to carry.
I want you to notice, secondly, not only because he forgives, but he said, don't forget his benefits. Number two, he heals. Look at verse 3, who healeth. all thy diseases. Aren't you glad we serve the healer?
You say, Well, preacher, I've got a disease in my body right now. He hadn't healed me up.
Well, dear friend, may I say this? He may or may not, but I know he can. But I will tell you this, I guarantee you've been healed of things in your life, and he's the one that did it. It's not some pill, it's not some medication, it's not some doctor. He is the healer.
He heals all our diseases. And can I say something? We don't just have physical diseases. In fact, the physical diseases are the least of our problems. It's the spiritual disease that each of us were born with.
We are born in sin. We are born on our way to hell. But he is the healer. I want you to notice more I would love to say about that. Number three, he redeems.
Look at this benefit that David mentions here. Look at verse 4. Who redeemeth thy life. from destruction. Do you know that's what God did for you to those of you who are saved?
He redeemed you from destruction. God didn't just save you to a new life. He saved you from destruction. Like, well, I don't know. I had it pretty good before I got, no, you didn't.
You might have had a bank account full, you might have had a house full, but you didn't have peace and you didn't have hope. And you didn't have heaven. He redeems. Thy life. from destruction.
If you've been saved this morning, you have been. Redeemed. Notice number four. Get this one. He surrounds This is interesting.
Look at verse 4. Who crowneth thee? Notice each of these are: who does this? Who redeemed us? Who crowneth thee.
Now, I used to not understand what this word was: who crowneth thee.
Well, so when I get to heaven, he's going to give me a crown? Yes, you can earn crowns, but that's not what this is talking about. This word crowneth means to surround. We're not even talking about the end times here where he rewards us for our life. Who crowneth thee literally means This word in the Hebrew is the word surround, like a crown is around.
It surrounds your head. This word crowneth in the Hebrew is the word surround. That means this: that when you and I got saved, literally God put a surrounding presence around us. What did He surround us with? I'm so glad you asked.
Notice first, He surrounds us with love. Look at verse 4. With Loving kindness. You are surrounded this morning by God's love. Wherever you go, it's there.
You can't go anywhere, it's not. Notice, secondly, he surrounds us with mercy. Look at verse 4. And tender mercies. Look at verse 11 here.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. We are surrounded with mercy. There's nowhere I can go, and there's nothing I can do to get away from or be too far away to have access to the mercy of God. I'm surrounded by it. That means whoever you encounter, you have the mercy of God.
Whatever person comes up to you, you have the mercy of God. It surrounds you. Not just love, not just mercy. Here we go. Look at verse 8, with grace.
The Lord is merciful and Gracious. He surrounds us with grace. Everywhere you and I go in our life as saved believers. We have access to things that we do not deserve. We have been given something that we could have never earned.
It's all of God's riches at Christ's expense. The grace of God. Can I remind you something today? I'm not saying you're going to swing from the rafters today, but I am telling you this: I want you walking out of this place, not forgetting the benefit of God's love, God's mercy, and God's grace. We get all down and all depressed and discouraged with life and circumstances and the things we don't have.
Imagine if you went through it without God's love and without God's mercy and without God's grace. Here's a big one, number four. Verse 8. He surrounds us with patience. Look at verse 8, slow to anger.
Yeah. Why is that? God didn't have to drive through Cornersville. Slow to anger. And plenteous in mercy.
Look at verse 13. like as a father pitieth his children. Patient.
So the Lord pitieth them. That fear him. Look at verse 14. For he knoweth our frame. And he remembers that we're as dust.
the patience of God. Oh, I don't know about you. I feel like he's earned the right to judge me for not doing right, but he's patient. He puts up with me. He lets me mess up.
And he's not angry with me forever. He doesn't always chide. His anger will not last forever. Number five. Another benefit.
He satisfies.
Now, get this one. This is one that I just wasn't 100% sure about. Look at verse 5. Who, he introduces the next one, who satisfies. thy mouth with good things, So that thy youth is renewed like the eagles.
Let's start with the first one. He satisfies how? Notice first with good. Things Psalm 84, 11, look at this verse. For the Lord God is a son and shield.
The Lord will give grace and glory. Listen to this. No good thing. will he withhold. from them that walk uprightly.
Now you look at me, if you're saved and you're a child of God. This Bible tells me. that he satisfies your life. with good things. And this verse tells me that if it's a good thing, God is not going to keep it away from you.
So if God has kept something away from you, it might not be a good thing.
So quit getting mad at God that he hadn't given it. Quit getting mad at God that he hasn't given a person. Quit getting mad at God that he hadn't given this, that he hasn't made this happen. Do you believe the Bible or not? Say amen.
Do you believe the Bible or not? According to this, then, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. He satisfies our mouth with good things. Look at this verse, Isaiah 55:8. God says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways.
My ways. You say, Preacher, what in the world are you talking about? Do you get this? Your definition of good things might not be God's definition of good things. God's ways are above our ways.
His thoughts are not our thoughts. And so, if you sit here today and say, well, there's just some things I don't think God was good to me, that's based on your definition, on your perspective, but not on God's. I love this. Look at these verses. I want you to get this.
We are promise that God will not withhold anything from us that's good. And it's important to remember that good is something defined according to God's perfect wisdom. Can I give you another thing about this? Everything God has created has a good purpose. And then it's right.
Now, think about that statement. Everything God has created has a good purpose. Like, I don't know if I agree with that.
Well, I'm glad you mentioned that. Look at 1 Timothy 4, verse 4. Look at this verse on the screen for you. For every creature, what is creature? Anything that God's created.
For every creature of God is good. and nothing to be refused. If it be received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Now listen to me, a lot of believers associate the possession of wealth And material objects. as the so-called good things life. But only God and His blessings constitute something that is truly good. That means some of us might have some things in our life that we think are good, but they're not. Because they've not been ordained by God.
You say, Preacher, what do you mean? The book of Ecclesiastes traces Solomon's search for satisfaction. Rich and powerful Solomon found only emptiness. At every possession.
So, what does he say in the last chapter? Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. In the days of your youth, quit going after everything the world has to offer. Keep your mind centered on God. Why?
Because only he satisfies.
Solomon had a thousand wives and he couldn't get no satisfaction.
Solomon had every bit of money the world has, couldn't get no satisfaction.
Solomon had every possession, the nicest place, the nicest anything. Guess what? All was vanity. And what did he say? Listen, while you're young.
Keep your focus. on the only thing that satisfies. He satisfies our mouth with good things. But look at verse 5. I want you to get this.
This is where I learned the most. We're almost done. He says, Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed. like the eagles.
Okay, so how do I? What am I supposed to do? How do I take this?
So, God satisfies my life with good things, and one thing that He does is He gives me strength like an eagle. For what? To go pick up food out of a river? What in the world is this? What does this mean?
You all know the verse. Look at Isaiah 40:31. It's on the screen for you. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles.
They shall run up. The greatest news that anyone can receive is the news of the free gift of salvation found in Jesus Christ. It is our desire for you to know him personally. Would you take a moment to hear this today? Every man is born with a sin nature.
Romans three twenty three says For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No matter how hard we try, we're not good enough to obtain God's glory. or to get to heaven. Because of that, sin carries the penalty of death. Romans 6.23 says, For the wages of sin is death.
But the gift of God is eternal life. through Jesus Christ our Lord. The wages of our sin, or the payment of our sin, only equals death and separation from God. But it's only through God's gift salvation through Jesus Christ that we can accept him as our Saviour. Jesus Christ paid for your sin debt.
The Bible says in Romans 5:8, but God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. All you have to do is receive Christ. by faith as your Saviour. Romans ten nine says That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Verse 13 continues, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
It's as simple as admitting that you're a sinner believing that Jesus is the only way. and calling upon his name. Bible says whosoever that's anyone can call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? There is no greater day than today to take care of this.
Would you accept Christ as your Savior? If you have any questions, please give us a call at 336-993-5192 or visit our website at Kerwin Baptist Church. Dot com. or visits that person at one of our three service times. We hope you have a great rest of your day.
God bless you. Mm-hmm.
